Almost a month has passed since Li Haojun started working at the aquatic technology company. He has basically grasped the company's situation and operations. The only problem is that this company doesn't seem to belong to the same group of companies he previously worked for, nor does it seem to be a client. He doesn't know why he was assigned to work here. The work tasks here aren't communicated through his previous personal terminal system, and his direct manager isn't the same person he used before. In fact, they don't even seem human. Perhaps human managers are using AI to assist with the work. Whatever, as long as they don't cause him trouble, they're good direct managers. He's left alone in undisturbed loneliness, thinking of Kathy, remembering her past, feeling the uncertainty, and wondering if there will be a future with her.
Sitting in his office, checking on the progress of projects and operations, Li Haojun feels like he's been placed in a retirement position. Aquaculture isn't his major, and there's no promising future in this industry. His work is just boring, procedural document approval. Li Haojun even thinks this company could run without human employees. The only thing that piqued his interest was a laboratory facility deep in the mountains, which the company's factory had expanded into. He didn't even have permission to enter or access its internal information.
Li Haojun could only glean information from the employees working in that lab. Ella Stevenson, specializing in molecular biology and artificial intelligence, had fair skin and reddish-brown hair. She rarely spoke to anyone, had pale green eyes, and even seemed somewhat aloof; she simply went to get off work every day. Ariana Snyder, specializing in astronomy and high-energy physics, was a mystery. He wondered what she was doing at a seafood company, but thankfully she was more outgoing, with large, light blue eyes and long, wavy, light blonde hair. She often chatted with her colleagues. Anya Joyce, with black hair and black eyes, possessed a quiet and mysterious air. She had wide-set eyes and studied molecular bioengineering, though Li Haojun preferred to think of her as a female shaman or a prophet.
Looking at their resumes, he could imagine what they might be doing in the lab—perhaps genetically modified fish, or even mermaids. Maybe some weirdo or philanthropist would like to live with him. In this era of diversity, anything is possible, so why not? As long as it doesn't harm others, someone will be willing to pay the price.
While idly letting his mind wander, Li Haojun glanced out the open office door. Lunchtime was approaching, and most of the young, beautiful women, lacking enthusiasm for work, were already chatting in small groups in the staff lounge, waiting for their meals.
Because the company's office building consisted of old, solid-walled structures, and with so many female employees, Li Haojun kept his office door open to avoid misunderstandings or disputes. After all, an older man like him didn't have much privacy to protect.
In the midst of this leisurely atmosphere, Sienna came in to inquire about his lunch arrangements. Li Haojun casually called her to his computer to show her. She had archived program files in the wrong location and explained the potential harm this could cause to downstream staff.
Sienna looked at it for a while, said nothing, and turned to leave. It was unclear whether she understood. After all, Li Haojun had just arrived, and all these employees were newly hired. They had only just met, and Li Haojun wanted to maintain a good relationship from the start. Watching Sienna's departing figure, he was still trying to excuse her, saying,
"Don't take it to heart. I made the same mistake at the beginning. This system is designed to be easily misunderstood."
Sienna had already left the office without responding. Li Haojun was puzzled; what was wrong with her?
While pondering this, Sienna returned, walked to the wall under the sunny window of Li Haojun's office, pulled the piano bench there to the center of the office, lifted the cushion, and took out a short, black leather whip made of several thin, woven leather strips.
Li Haojun was astonished. Why would such a thing be in the piano bench in the office? How did Sienna know? She had already walked up to Li Haojun, handed him the whip, and said,
"I made a mistake, punish me, spank me," she said, then turned and walked towards the piano bench.
Li Haojun looked down at the whip in his hand, wondering, "Who used this?" Looking up again, he saw Sienna already bent over the piano bench, her face turned towards him.
Seeing this, Li Haojun's eyes widened for less than a second before he sprang up from his seat like a spring. He glanced at the door; no one was looking this way. He took two steps to the office door, slammed it shut, and just as the door was about to close, he quickly pulled it back, gently closing it.
Turning back, Li Haojun saw Sienna still quietly slumped on the piano bench. He walked over, knelt down, and faced Sienna, asking,
"Why did you do this?"
"Because I did something wrong," she answered calmly, her eyes fixed on Li Haojun, seemingly unmoved.
"Who told you that doing something wrong should be punished like this?"
"Company rules,"
"Oh," Li Haojun replied, but a doubt lingered in his mind. What kind of company would have such a rule?
"Sienna, listen to me. The mistake you made was very small, but this punishment is too severe. It's disproportionate, understand?"
"Oh, then what should we do?"
"Get up first. I'll explain the punishment to you later," Li Haojun said, taking her arm and helping Sienna to her feet. Then, looking into her eyes, he said,
"This matter is over. Let's pretend nothing happened. You don't..." "Making a mistake doesn't require punishment. Just walk out of this office and continue doing what you were doing before, as if nothing happened. Can you do that?"
"Yes,"
"Good, this period is a blank. Are you feeling calm now?"
"Yes,"
"Promise me you'll continue living your life well and doing your job well, okay?"
"Okay, I promise you,"
After a series of questions, Li Haojun, observing her reaction, seemed somewhat relieved and said,
"Alright, then you can leave the office and prepare for lunch. You don't need to close the door when you leave, is that okay?"
"Okay,"
With that, Sienna quietly left.
Watching her retreating figure, Li Haojun reconstructed his understanding of Sienna in his mind. It was truly difficult to comprehend how she would handle the stress reactions to what most people consider common sense—personal privacy, dignity, shame, and personal humiliation. Only when he saw her sitting with other colleagues, chatting and waiting for lunch did he feel relieved.
Turning back to his seat, Li Haojun was shocked to find the whip still lying on his chair. He gave a disdainful smile, but had no choice but to clean up the mess himself. He used his body to block the open office door, rolled up the whip, and put it back in the piano bench. Curiosity compelled him to peek inside; sure enough, there were other various SM toys.
During lunch, Li Haojun's eyes would occasionally drift towards Sienna. She, sitting opposite him, seemed to notice, sometimes responding with a slight smile and a glance back. Li Haojun hoped she understood his concern correctly, rather than harboring lust or spying. However, based on his understanding of common sense, Li Haojun was unsure.
After lunch break, Li Haojun called Sienna to his office again to check on her mental state. The door was still open. Li Haojun pulled up a chair for her to sit beside him and asked,
"This morning, you mentioned company regulations, where did you see that?" He asked while carefully observing her facial expressions, afraid of hurting her feelings at any moment.
"Here," Sienna said, handing Li Haojun her employee terminal.
Taking it, she saw the punishment for work mistakes: "spanking," along with an instruction number, the location of the punishment being the supervisor Li Haojun's office, and the tool being a black piano bench with a leather whip (the recipient could choose). Clicking on the details provided a more detailed explanation, describing the differences in feel between different whips, and requiring the punished person to consciously feel the responsibility of being punished for their mistake, and to understand the intrinsic connection between the strength of the whip and the individual's emotions, and how these emotions changed as the punishment progressed.
Turning the page further revealed different hypothetical follow-up scenarios, allowing the reader to experience the changing trends in their relationship with the punisher after the event. If the incident were witnessed by other colleagues, consider the impact on your interpersonal relationships if the incident spreads among other employees within the company, and whether you need to, and how to, repair those relationships or the situation.
What is all this? Li Haojun looked at Sienna's job description prompts with surprise, feeling like this was a role-playing game. How did a seafood company become a real-life version of a teenage girl's workplace role-playing game?
Li Haojun had initially wanted to ask about her background, how she was doing, or why she came to this company, but the thought only flashed through his mind. Not knowing her well enough, he was afraid of touching a sensitive spot.
He had to change his approach.
"Oh, this job instruction...it's somewhat similar," Li Haojun paused, as if considering a vivid analogy.
"Sigh, I see from your resume that you grew up in this town. During your school years, was there ever a classmate who was a bit of a jerk? Someone you disliked?"
Sienna thought for a moment, rolled her eyes, and hesitated before saying,
"I don't seem to remember much about my school days,"
"Oh," Li Haojun responded, seemingly a little embarrassed, and had to devise another way to ask questions.
"Then, did your parents ever stand up for you and support you against injustice?"
Sienna looked around, thought for a moment, and said,
"I don't remember either. I don't think I've experienced that,"
"Oh, well, it seems quite difficult to find examples to compare." Li Haojun chuckled self-deprecatingly as she spoke.
Sienna, seeing this, also giggled, a smile playing on her lips.
Li Haojun thought to herself, "After all this effort, it wasn't for nothing. She's finally showing some emotion. It seems the morning's events didn't have any particularly negative impact on her."
"Actually, I've been away from them for a long time. Now I'm all alone,"
"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't know that. Perhaps I shouldn't have brought up your past," Li Haojun quickly said.
"It's alright, it was a long time ago. I don't remember anything."
"So, are you satisfied with your life now?" Li Haojun quickly steered the conversation back to the present.
"I'm not quite sure," Sienna said, pouting slightly, looking around. Her large, shifting eyes seemed to be searching for answers in her own feelings.
(Knock knock knock) The sound interrupted everything. Casey walked into the office with the documents.
"Ethan, excuse me for interrupting, but I need your approval for a shipment of fish fry," she said, glancing at Sienna.
"Sorry to interrupt you, but the customer's truck is waiting outside, so..." Before she could finish, Sienna tactfully stood up, said goodbye, and left.
"Then you two go ahead with your work, Ethan. I'll come back when you have time," she said, turning and leaving.
Watching her retreating figure, her words, "I'll come back when you have time," reassured Li Haojun.
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